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prochoice Newsletter Archive

The term pro abortion is unnerving to me to say the least. While many anti abortion groups use it more often than saying pro choice, I simply refuse to use it at all. Some time ago, National Public Radio even encouraged their staff to use the terms anti abortion and pro abortion rather than pro life and pro choice. I stopped listening.

I’m truly tired of the ignorance. The term pro choice is fitting. One who is pro choice, is for a woman’s right to choose what to do with her body.

One who opposes a woman’s right to choose would be considered anti abortion. I disagree with that term as well because a majority of the people fighting to end abortions are also against programs for women’s health services and basic health needs like birth control and STD screening.

In my opinion the only two labels that are true to their title are pro choice and anti choice.

The term pro life insinuates that the other side is anti life. It couldn’t be farther from the truth. There is not a pro choice supporter who is anti life. They are in fact living a life. They have family and friends whom are living. Many of them even have (*gasp*) children.

Anti abortionists use the terms anti life and pro abortion to sway people to their side of the cause, or to shame the opposition.

In all my years of living, I have never known anyone who was pro abortion. No one aspires to have an abortion the way I aspire to visit Hawaii. 1 in 3 women will have an abortion by the time they are 40 years old. I am willing to bet that not one of them “wanted” an abortion.

In a perfect world birth control would be readily available, free, and infallible. This is just not the case. It probably won’t be in my lifetime.

As a pro choice woman I support a women’s right to choose what happens to her body and if and when she ever wants to have children. I support her right to choose the best birth control option for her and I expect that it be easily attainable and low cost. You cannot argue against abortion if you are also against birth control.

We should not have to live in a world where the only options are to abstain or produce children.

I still hope that one day both sides can come together towards some sort of compromise. Only then will we really be supporting women in the best possible way.